Hair trimmer



sept. 1962 A. A. REISER ETAL 3,054,179

HAIR TRIMMER Filed Aug. 4, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTO s ALFRED A.25/55::

F EDERICK E .ScHucA/M N 7275/24 rrakusv Sept. 18, 1962 3,054,179

A. A. REISER ETAL HAIR TRIMMER Filed Aug. 4, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1VENTO s ALFRED/4.221552 77/5214 1' 102MB v 3,054,179 HAIR TRIMMER AlfredA. Reiser, RED. 1, Old Lake Shore Road, Lake View, N.Y., and FrederickE. Schuchman, 5457 Dunmoyle Ave., Pittsburgh, Pa.

Filed Aug. 4, 1960, Ser. No. 47,514 20 Claims. (Cl. 330-295) Thisinvention relates generally to electric razors and more particularly toan electric razor for cutting hair in the nostrils and ears.

The principal object of this invention is the provision of a tubularbarrel. having an annular series of slots at the end thereof with arotary blade therein for cutting hair that projects into the slots ofthe barrel. The bore of the barrel adjacent the slots provides thestationary portion of the cutting means and the blade which rotateswithin the barrel has a sharp edge that passes over the slots andprovides the counterpart of the cutter for severing hair extendingthrough the slots in the barrel. Thus the inner surface and edges of theslots of the barrel must be shaped to cooperate with the sharp cuttingedge that travels over the interior of the slots. The principal problemis the manner of providing the proper amount of pressure between thesecooperating cutting portions from a rotary member within the barrel.This problem may be accomplished by.having one or more arms that swingoutwardly against the inner surface of the barrel adjacent the slots dueto centrifugal force. This centrifugal force of the rotary cutting armmay be increased by adding weights to the rotary cutting member. .Ifthere are two or three arms in the rotor the cutting heads of which areresiliently attached to the rotating member, then a weight may be addedto each arm adjacent the position of the cutting slots.

The simplest form of centrifugal action for the rotary member to solvethis problem is a Single blade which may be pivotally attached to therotary member on the rotary axis thereof and the rotary member beingslotted to allow the blade to move laterally against the cutting surfaceof the barrel as it rotates. If the blade is of sufiicient weight it maysupply the proper pressure on the interior cutting surface of the barrelto provide a good cutting action of hair such as extending from thenostril which hair is rather coarse. If the blades does not havesuflicient centrifugal force, then a weight may be added thereto toincrease the pressure of the blade on the cutting surface inside of thebarrel to the proper degree and the weight may be placed at differentpositions between the cutting surface of the blade and its pivot toeffect the proper operation of the device.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a tubular haircutting device that has a series of slots adjacent one end thereof toprovide an inner annular cutting surface to be engaged by a rotarycutting blade mounted within the tube and having suflicient inertia toapply a cutting pressure and coact with the inner cutting surface of thetube when the blade is rotated therein. The tube is also provided with aseries of openings spaced inwardly from the slots to provide a dischargefor the hair or liquid for the purpose of washing the hair trimmer as atransverse ,rotary blade cooperating with the inner cutting surface ofthe tube will function as a pump rotor for the purpose of drawing liquidupwardly intothe tube and discharge it laterally through the dischargeorifice and thus wash out the tube.

Another object vis the provision of a transverse rotary blade having aspiral twist for enhancing the pump rotor action in drawing fluid intothe end of the tube and discharging the same through lateral openings.

Another object of this invention is the provision of shaping the innercutting surface of the barrel by under- United States Patent )fifice A3,054,179 Patented Sept. .18, 1962 cutting the bore and arranging thepivot of the rotary cutter at such a distance that the straight edge ofthe rotary cutter mates with the cutting surface in the bore of thebarrel when the rotary cutter is forced against this surface bycentrifugal action.

7 Another object is the provision of a rotary cutter for use in atubular barrel wherein the cutter is flat and of uniform thickness andits end is arcuate from adjacent the cutting edge so as to provide areceded portion inwardly of the cutting edge. Such a rotary cutter musthave only one cutting edge on each side of the surface which engages thecutting surface of the barrel and from this cutting position the blademust recede. If there are to be two rotary cutting blades then they aremounted on the same pivot and the rotary axis is preferably between theengaging surfaces of the blades. These blades are so honed to fit thecutting surface of the barrel and are weighted so that the centrifugalforce functions to have them spread diametrically on opposite sides ofthe barrel at the same time.

Other objects and advantages appear hereinafter in the followingdescription and claims.

The accompanying drawings show for the purpose of exemplificationwithout limiting the claims thereto, certain practical embodimentsillustrating the principles of this invention wherein:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view with parts broken away showing the adaptationof the device to a commercial razor.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged exploded view of the rotary blade disclosed inFIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the cutter mechanism shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a battery operated hair trimmer showing amodified structural form.

7 FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a modified form of a rotary cuttingblade.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged end view of the structure shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line 7-7 of FIG. 1.

FIG. '8 is an enlarged sectional view showing a modified form of thisinvention.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged sectional view showing a modified form of thecutting blade and barrel.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3 the motor body 1 is that of a well-known razoron the market today and to which this hair trimmer has been adapted tooperate. The hair trimmer shown at 2 is provided with a cap member 3which is shaped to close the opening 4 of the razor and is provided withan annular flange 5 that engages the edge 6 of the razor for enclosingthe opening 4. The motor 1 is provided with two protruding shafts 7 thatare geared together within the motor and which provide an axialresilience exerted by a spring 9 in forcing the shaft out.- wardly to afixed stop. These shafts extend through formed projections 8 which withthe case 10 of the motor 1 are formed by an integral plastic beingseparable along the medial line 11.

The under side of the hair trimmer adapter 2 is provided with a' pair ofconnected cylindrical abutments 12 and 13 that are provided withcylindrical bores 14 and 15 respectively. These bores fit down over theextensions 8 to firmly hold the adapter 2 in position. A spring lock isprovided on the electric razor 1 to engage the lug 16 and hold theadapter in place. a

The adapter is provided with an inner casing 17 which is formed integralwith the cap member 3 and extends through a bore 18 therein so as toproperly center the clutch member 20 with the end of the shaft 7. Theclutch member 20 is formed with a tubular sleeve 21 having a socket 22in one end to receive the stepped screwdriver end of the shaft 7 for thepurpose of driving the coupling 20. The opposite end of the coupling isprovided with a socket 22 for resiliently receiving the pivot support23. The pivot support 23 moves into the socket 22 with sufficient forcethat it may be inserted or retracted by hand but it is tight enough toforcibly clamp on the end of the pivot support 23 to rotate the same.

The end of the pivot support 23 remote of the motor is provided with aslot 24 centered in a transverse axial plane of the pivot support 23. Atransverse opening 25 is made to receive the pivot pin 26. The pivot pin26 is sufliciently long to also pass through the collar bearing 27 whichis a plastic type bearing which is rotatable in the bore 28 of thebarrel 30. The casing 17 has an adapter 31 secured thereto by the Allenscrew 32. The adapter 31 may be removed from the bore of the casing 17for the purpose of withdrawing the barrel from the casing. The barrel isthen stretched over the blade member 33 and the pivot support 23 maythen be withdrawn from the socket 22. The bore of the adapter 31 isthreaded as indicated at 34 to receive the threaded section 35 of thebarrel 30. A lock nut 36 is likewise threaded on the barrel to lock thebarrel in position against the end of the adapter 31.

The blade 33 has a pivotal opening 37 to receive the pivot pin 36. Thethickness of the blade 33 is less than that of the slot 24 and it isfree to pivot on the pin 26 so that the cutting edge 40 may bear againstthe internal cutting surface 38 of the barrel 38. The blade 33 is alsoweighted as indicated at 41 for increasing the centrifugal action andthus the pressure of the cutting surface 40 against the interior cuttingsurface 38 of the barrel 30. This weight may be lead or another heavybody secured to the blade 33. The blade 33 is cut backwardly on the areas indicated at 42 so as to provide a generous opening to receive thehair through the end of the barrel 30 and allow the hair to be caught inthe longitudinally disposed slots 43 in the cutting surface 38 of thebarrel. These slots are considerable in number and are preferablyuniformly spaced around the barrel and the outer rim of the cutting headis turned inwardly as indicated at 44 to cover the blunt end 45 of theblade so as to protect the person of the user. As shown in FIGS. 1, 2and 4 the slots 43 are V-shaped. However, as shown in FIG. 8 these slotsare straight as indicated at 46.

It will be noted in FIGS. 1 and 2 that the cutting surface 40 is at anangle to the edge of the blade 33 so that it mates in honed relationwith the cutting surface 38 of the head 44.

The barrel 30 is provided with a series of openings as indicated at 47which are shown to be holes in FIGS. 1 and 2 which holes will permitshort hairs to pass therethrough during the normal operation of thedevice. The blade 33 functions as a fan which will suck air into theopen end at the head 44 and thus draw the cut air inwardly dischargingit laterally through the openings 47 which openings may be made long soas to accommodate longer particles of hair. This pumping action is quiteevident when the end of the barrel 30 is inserted into a liquid to cleanthe hair trimmer. When the end of the barrel 30 is immersed leaving thelateral openings 47 ex posed to the air and the device is operated theblade 33 will pump the liquid up into the barrel and discharge the samethrough the lateral openings 47.

In the structure shown in FIG. 4 the barrel 30 is threadably engaged inthe threaded bore of the adapter 48 and locked in place by the lock nut36. The adapter 48 has the adapted conical section 50 and is secured tothe conical section 51 of the casing 52. This casing houses the electricmotor 53 and is driven by a single battery cell 54 with its terminal 55held in engagement with one of the motor leads 56' by means of thehelical spring 57. The current is completed through the switch 58 whichis similar to a flashlight switch which when engaging the casing of themotor 53 completes the circuit through the motor and the battery causingthe motor to rotate and its shaft 59 rotating the sleeve 60 which snuglyreceives the end of the pivot support 23 unlike the electric razor shownin FIG. 1 which requires a cord attachment for connecting the same to apower circuit. The hair trimmer shown in FIG. 4 is independent in thatit carries its own power and motor.

In the structure shown in FIG. 5 the blade 60 is arranged to bepivotally supported in the same manner as the previous blades. However,it is provided with a complete twist as indicated at 61 to position thecutting portion 40 at 180 from the stem portion 62. This arcuatedisposition of the blade induces an increased impelling force enhancingthe pumping action of the blade in drawing the hair inwardly anddischarging it through the lateral ports.

Referring now to the structure shown in FIG. 8 a barrel 63 is providedwith the slots 46 having straight sides and the interior cutting surface64 of the cutting head at the end of the barrel is undercut from thebore 65 of the barrel so that the blade 66 which is supported on thepivot pin 26 has a straight edge 67 that matches the slope in theannular interior cutting surface 64. Thus the end of the blade asindicated at 68 becomes a cutting surface that matches the cuttingsurface 64.

The blade 66 is also provided with a weight member 41 to provide theproper pressure of the cutting surface 68 against the annular cuttingsurface 64 of the barrel for the purpose of severing the hair extendingthrough the slots 46.

The barrel 63 is provided with extended slots 70 for discharging thehair laterally from the barrel. These openings are materially largerthan the openings 47 which increases the discharge of the hair from thebarrel.

Referring to FIG. 9 the barrel 71 has a uniform bore 72 with slots 73 atits outer end that extend through the inturned annular flange 74. Theblade 75 is pivoted on the pin 26 and has a cut-ting edge 76 which mateswith the interior cylindrical cutting surface 77 of the barrel. Theouter end 77 of the blade 75 is also a cutting edge which mates with theinner radial cutting surface 79 of the inturned flange 74. The blade 75is biased to move outwardly by the spring pressure forcing the shaft 7outwardly thereby cutting hair on the inturned annular flange of thebarrel as well as on the side of the barrel. As shown in FIG. 6 it ispreferable to have the blade thicker than the openings or slots.

We claim:

1. A hair trimmer comprising a barrel, means defining a series ofopenings in the annular perimetral surface and the end of said barrel, arotary member mounted in said barrel and carrying a pivot, a bladepivotally supported on said pivot in said rotary member, the outer edgeof said blade engaging the bore of said barrel at least to the extent ofthe length of said openings, said blade being constructed so that itsmass outwardly from said pivot is such that its inertial pressureagainst the annular surface of the bore adjacent said openings issufiicient to sever hair extending through said openings as the blade isrotated.

2. The hair trimmer of claim 1 characterized by a weight attached tosaid blade outwardly of said pivot which increases the centrifugal forceand pressure of said blade against the interior bore surface of saidbarrel adjacent said openings.

3. The hair trimmer of claim 1 characterized in that said blade is lessin transverse dimension than the bore of said barrel.

4. The hair trimmer of claim 1 characterized in that the outer end ofsaid blade recedes laterally from the cutting edge toward the oppositeside of said blade.

5. The hair trimmer of claim 1 characterized in that said pivot ismounted in a bearing rotatable in the bore of said barrel.

6. The hair trimmer of claim 1 characterized by a motor for operatingsaid hair trimmer having a rotary shaft biased to move outwardly, aclutch engaging the outer end of said motor shaft carrying said rotarymember, said motor shaft moving said blade axially outwardly.

7. The hair trimmer of claim 1 characterized in that said blade isprovided with a longitudinally extending cutting edge disposed at anangle relative to the edge of said blade adjacent said pivot and havinga mating engagement with the bore of said barrel adjacent said openings.

8. The hair trimmer of claim 1 characterized in that said barrel isundercut adjacent said openings to provide an annular conical surfacethat mates with the cutting edge of said blade, the cutting portion ofsaid blade being a straight extension of the edge of said blade andmating with said annular conical cutting surface in said barrel.

9. The hair trimmer of claim 1 characterized in that said blade istwisted intermediate of its pivot point and its outer cutting edgethrough 180.

10. The hair trimmer of claim 9 characterized in that said twistedportion of said blade extends along its cutting edge.

11. A hair trimmer comprising a barrel, an inturned annular flange onthe outer end of said barrel, means defining a series of openings in theannular perimetral surface and said inturned flange, a rotary membermounted in said barrel and carrying a pivot, a blade pivotally supportedon said pivot in said rotary member, the outer edge of said bladeengaging the bore of said barrel at least to the extent of the length ofsaid openings, said blade being constructed so that its mass outwardlyfrom said pivot is such that its inertial pressure against the annularsurface of the bore adjacent said openings is suflicient to sever hairextending through said openings as the blade is rotated.

12. The hair trimmer of claim 11 characterized by a motor for operatingsaid hair trimmer having a rotary shaft biased to move outwardly, aclutch engaging the outer end of said motor shaft carrying said rotarymemher, said motor shaft moving said blade axially outwardly to engagesaid inturned annular flange.

13. The hair trimmer of claim 11 characterized in that said openings arealso in said inturned annular flange, said blade is biased to moveoutwardly, the outer end of said blade engaging said inturned annularflange to sever hair in the openings of said flange.

14. The hair trimmer of claim 11 characterized in that said openings areslots and said slots extend through said inturned annular flange.

15. A hair trimmer comprising a barrel, means defining a series ofopenings in the annular perimetral surface, a rotary member mounted insaid barrel and carrying a pivot, a blade pivotally supported on saidpivot in said rotary member, the outer edge of said blade engaging thebore of said barrel at least to the extent of the length of saidopenings, said blade being constructed so that its mass outwardly fromsaid pivot is such that its inertial pressure against the annularsurface of the bore adjacent said openings is suflicient to sever hairextending through said openings as the blade is rotated.

16. The hair trimmer of claim 15 characterized in that said blade istwisted intermediate of its pivot point and its outer edge, the planesof said pivot portion and that portion carrying the outer cutting edgebeing parallel to each other.

17. The hair trimmer of claim 16 characterized in that said twistedportion of said blade extends along its cutting edge.

18. The hair trimmer of claim 17 characterized in that said openings areslots.

19. The hair trimmer of claim 18 characterized in that said slots areV-shaped.

20. The hair trimmer of claim 15 characterized by means defining asecond set of openings in said barrel spaced inwardly of said first setof openings.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,026,630 Harris Jan. 7, 1936 2,312,933 Seiders Mar. 2, 1943 2,387,756Henningsen Oct. 20, 1945 2,618,055 Robertson Nov. 18, 1952 2,801,465Cason Aug. 6, 1957 2,946,121 Marach July 26, 1960 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,054, 179 September 18,1962 Alfred A. Reiser et al. I

It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered petentrequiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read ascorrected below.

Column 6, line 27, for the claim reference numeral "17" read l5 Signedand sealed this 12th day of February 1963.

(SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST w. SWIDER DAVID LADD Commissioner of Patents Attesting Officer

